Shed old weaknesses with the new coach. The German hockey women want to be on point at the World Cup, especially in the knockout games. Everything you need to know about the world tournament.
For the first time in two countries
Spain’s Terrassa and Dutch Amstelveen will host the 18th Women’s Hockey World Championship from July 1st to 17th. This is the first time that a World Cup will be held in two host countries. 16 teams are there, Spain and Canada open the world tournament on Friday.
difficult group
Even the group stage is a challenge for the German team coached by national coach Valentin Altenburg. It’s against World Cup newcomer Chile, world champion Netherlands and runner-up Ireland. The venue is Amstelveen.
Only the first in the group safe in the quarterfinals
Only the first place finishers in each group qualify directly for the quarter-finals. In the so-called “crossover” the runners-up in one group play against the third-placed in another. Only then does it go to the quarterfinals.
Netherlands big favourite
The record world champions from the Netherlands are the clear favorites for the title – Oranje has already won eight world titles. Argentina, England and Ireland also belong to the inner circle of title contenders.
Altenburg dampens expectations
And the German team? In the FIH per league the women of the German Hockey Association ended up sixth in Neunerfeld. In the last game of the league, which was also the dress rehearsal for the World Cup, there was a clear 4-0 win against China. Shortly before departure, coach Altenburg emphasized his team’s role as outsiders. “It would not correspond to reality if we sat down and said that we were playing for medals. That would be complete nonsense.”he said: “First we have to check our own performance. Then we can see what that does to the results on the scoreboard. Let’s see how far that can take us.“It’s been a while since German women’s last success at a World Cup. In 1998 there was bronze in Utrecht.
The national coach of the DHB women: Valentin Altenburg.
Trainer relies on experience
Altenburg has nominated 18 players for the World Cup and relies on experience on the field. “With Anne Schröder, Sonja Zimmermann and Nike Lorenz, we have three important leading players in the team who bring a lot of experience from tournaments to this team at different levels on the pitch“, he said: “The three are an important extension of the field for me.”
Back to success with Altenburg?
But hopes also rest on Altenburg itself. The 41-year-old Hamburger Altenburg only took over the team on January 1st. He stands for new beginnings and is considered a modern, communicative trainer. “My vision is that we play attractive and successful hockey with this team,” he says.
“Want to win our knockout games”
At the first tournament under Altenburg, the team wants to get rid of this weakness. “Our main goal was to win our knockout games”, said national player Sonja Zimmermann. Since winning the Olympic bronze medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, the deciders at top events (one World Cup and three European Championship tournaments) have regularly been lost. Most recently at the 2021 Olympic Games in Tokyo. There was a 0:3 against Argentina in the quarterfinals. “The World Cup elite is close together, you can lose a knockout game, but it always depends on the how”said Altenburg. You are often there “Failed not because of the overwhelming competition, but because of myself. My own demands and perfectionism slowed me down”said the coach: “We have to stop that.”